As is well known, a stepper motor indexes from position to position rather than having a continuously rotating shaft. It is often necessary to mount the motor so that its housing is properly orientated to what is referred to as a detent position. The detent position is any one of several positions at which the shaft is momentarily stopped.
Heretofore, one technique involved a clamp ring around the outer periphery of the motor housing which was adjusted to the final position at the time of installation of the motor. This technique has the disadvantage of requiring excess mounting clearance around the motor housing, and additional assembly time is required to properly measure and locate the detent position of the shaft with the motor energized. Another technique that has been used is to grind a flat portion of the motor shaft after the motor has been installed. This is a difficult technique since it risks introducing chips and oil into the motor. Other techniques include attempting to adjust the detent position during assembly but this requires substantial skill and is time consuming.
The present invention is directed to a simple inexpensive solution to the problem.